Breast Implants Recalled After Being Linked To Rare Form Of Cancer

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Food and Drug Administration issued a worldwide recall of a type of breast implant that has been associated with a rare form of cancer.

The recall involves breast implants made by  Allergan that have a rough surface, known as textured implants, which can contain silicone or saline.

According to local breast cancer specialist Michele Carpenter of St. Joseph Hospital in Orange these implants have been associated with a rare form of lymphoma.

Carpenter says one of her patients with the textured implants had them removed after experiencing problems.

"She developed some fluid around the implant and that's one of the first signs that we worry about because the indication to go looking for the lymphoma is the fluid," said Carpenter.

Thankfully for the patient, the tests for lymphoma were negative.

The FDA first identified a possible association between the textured implants and what is known as breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma in 2011.

According to doctors, the implants are more widely used in Europe compared to the United States where five percent of implants are textured.